We heard from a couple of people with additional
information on the pieces that were posted last month. First was our host,
Frank Trzaska. Anyone who knows Frank knows that if you give him a multi-digit
number with a couple of dashes thrown in, he immediately starts to tract that
number. Frank writes:

That picture of the wrapper put me on the trail with the NSN number. Did
you
know that is a good number for the Navy? They call it an M5 bayonet and it
fits the description! This may be a South Korean bayonet but it also is a US
Navy Issue one too!

I checked the bayonet that came out of the wrapper and it
does not come close to the dimensions listed for the NSN number. I also
checked my US and South Korean manufactured M5s and again, no luck matching up
the dimensions. Looks like a mystery to me; a US Navy bayonet classified as an
M5 with a 5-3/4" blade and a 5-3/4" hilt. Can anyone help with this
one?

Our other new information pertains to the Indonesian M1.
Otto at www.ebayonet.com
sent me photos of an Indonesian M1 with wood grips. I remember seeing these
several years ago. The grips are similar in design to those on the British No.
5 Jungle Carbine bayonet. They wrap around the bottom portion of the tang and
have a center seam. The grips are secured with Philips head machine screws and
Hex nuts.

Otto's bayonet photo, click on thumbnail to see full size photo

A big thank you to Frank and Otto for sharing this
additional information with us.

October 1, 2003

This month we’ll continue with the foreign made bayonets
for the US M1 Rifle. Here are three more examples for your viewing pleasure.
Once again, I look forward to anyone with specific knowledge on these or the
previously posted bayonets to contact me and we will post that information
here in follow up installments.

Japanese M5 Bayonet

This bayonet is practically identical to the US
manufactured M5. The machining work on the blade and component parts is very
well done. Machine marks are clearly visible on the blade, but the blade has
very clean lines and has a better finished look than the standard US M5. The
bayonet is fabricated the same as the US made bayonet. The blade carries the
manufacturer’s marking, KIFFE over JAPAN. The rest of the bayonet is
unmarked. The scabbard is a standard US M8 scabbard.

According to Larry Johnson, author of Japanese Bayonets,
there are two variations of this bayonet with the difference being in the
length of the false edge.

This bayonet is identical to the US manufactured M1
bayonet. The right ricasso is marked with the standard flaming bomb with the
letters N P above and J below. These bayonets were made shortly after World
War II. Jerry Janzen states in his book that they were produced in 1952 for
the Japanese National Police and the letters stand for National Police, Japan.
Other sources say the markings are representative of the manufacturer, Nippon
Products Japan.

This bayonet is often found in the standard US M7 scabbard.
There are also several different Japanese-made scabbards for this bayonet.
Three examples are shown. The first example (A) has a fiberglass body with a
standard M7 style throat. The fiberglass used in constructing the body of the
scabbard has a very coarse weave that is visibly noticeable. The front of the
scabbard throat is marked with a symbol representing Howa Machinery, Ltd.

The second scabbard (B) has a plastic body with two
circular mold marks on the front and back. The metal throat is riveted
together with two small hollow rivets on each side. The front of the throat is
marked with the letters US over J inside a flaming bomb.

The third scabbard (C) also has a plastic body, identical
to the previous scabbard. The metal throat on this scabbard is the same as
that on the (A) scabbard, marked on the front with Howa Machinery, Ltd.
symbol.

These bayonets show up from time to time at shows and on
auctions but are usually in US scabbards. The scabbards are much more
difficult to locate.

This is another example of a foreign manufactured bayonet
that is identical in appearance to its US counterpart. The bayonet was
manufactured in Taiwan. The blade is marked 60-6 over a symbol and the letters
KS. It is believed that the 60-6 stands for June 1960, a possible date of
manufacture. The grips are marked on the interior surface with M1 KS and a
symbol, believed to be right and left.

All the scabbards I’ve seen have had the front of the
throat ground. I believe they were old US M7 scabbard throats and the marks
were removed by grinding. The scabbard body has a symbol of some type on the
front and back, molded right into the plastic. The entire scabbard is painted
with a dark green paint.